I spent way too much time coming up with that haiku just to talk about the summer anime season, so I hope it brightened your day somewhat. As a penance for not having a post up on Friday, today’s post will be a double-feature! That’s right, two articles for the price of one! So grab your Super Soaker, slip on your sandals, and let’s get right into it!

5. 91 Days

Touting itself as a story of a man’s revenge against the mafia set in a 1920s US city, 91 Days had me intrigued from the synopsis. I’m a big fan of “vintage” looking anime, and as I’ve been loving Joker Game this past anime season, I’m willing to give 91 Days a try. An original story from the studio that produced Zankyou no Terror and several arcs of Durarara!!, I’m definitely looking forward to what 91 Days will bring to the table story-wise, and I’m hoping that character development will play as much a role in this story as it did in Durarara!!

4. Alderamin on the Sky

I’m going to be honest here: I picked this anime mostly because it’s being produced by Madhouse. In case you’re not aware, Madhouse is a studio known for high quality animation, and is linked to several amazing anime such as Overlord, Cardcaptor Sakura,Chobits, HunterxHunter (2011), Parasyte: The Maxim, and my favorite anime of 2015: One-Punch Man. With so many great series under their belt already, I’m intrigued as to what this anime will feel like. The synopsis paints a picture of a fantasy war story about a young genius who (against all expectations) becomes a great commander and soldier among the army of the nation he resides in; while this isn’t bad, the little I know about the story feels like it’s been done before, but I do believe that Madhouse will be able to pull of something at least decent with the show. Here’s hoping that Alderamin on the Sky surpasses my expectations.

3. ReLIFE

From the moment I started reading the manga on Crunchyroll, I was hooked into ReLIFE’s story. A spin on the classic “what-if-you-could-do-life-over” story type, ReLIFE gives its main protagonist, an unemployed 27-year old named Kaizaki, the opportunity to relive life in high school for one year as part of a kind of experiment, similar to the Kizuna System in Kiznaiver now that I think about it. The manga is really quite interesting, and I’m hoping that the anime manages to convey the same type of quirky, laid-back personality that the manga had. Manga-to-anime transitions can be amazing when done right, and ReLIFE has the potential to become a classic anime. It has some amazing seiyuu (Japanese voice actors) voicing the main characters, people who’ve worked on anime like Anohana and Silver Spoon, so I think that ReLIFE will manage to pull its own and make a name for itself this coming season.

2. Handa-kun

Barakamon is one of my all-time favorite anime: the characters, the setting, and the plot structure all work together beautifully to create a touching story about personal growth and maturity. Handa-kun will serve as a prequel, following the life of aspiring calligrapher Handaa Seishuu as he navigates the rocky waters of high school on his journey to begin his career. The summaries depict it as a shounen comedy, which immediately reminds me of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, except without the romance. Handaa always came across as comically insecure during Barakamon, so I’m sure his personality will take center stage yet again in this summer adventure.

1. Mob Psycho 100

If you know how much I loved One-Punch Man as it was being released, then you’ll understand how excited I am for the next anime based on author ONE’s works. Mob Psycho 100 also focuses on an individual with metahuman abilities (my nerd is showing, I know), but the protagonist’s abilities revolve around telekinesis and emotions rather than invulnerability and strength. I was originally surpised to see that Madhouse wasn’t behind this one, but then I saw that Bones, the studio behind My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and Cowboy Bebop, was working on it and my hype level has reached record levels of high. With ONE’s storytelling and Bones’ animation at the helm, I’m looking forward to an absolute roller coaster of an anime with Mob Psycho.

Special Mention: A Silent Voice

A Silent Voice is one of my favorite manga due to the personal and raw way it handles topics like bullying, redemption, forgvieness, and loss. The manga is sweet, poignant, deep, and beautiful, and the themes it explores through the struggles of its characters are both relatable and compelling. I don’t to get into too much detail because its best to go in as blind as possible in order to truly experience it, but suffice it to say that it’s a story that (in the first volume of the manga), begins with a bully, and ends with a quest for redemption. If you like well-crafted stories with interesting characters, A Silent Voice is the manga for you. An OVA is scheduled for fall 2016.

The wifi is the killer of us all. But if you have a local Starbucks, you could always go there for anime and coffee. ^_^

Oh yeah, I’m really hyped for the A Silent Voice OVA! The manga surprised me with its depth and plot structure, and it’s always my first recommendation to those who want to get into manga. 🙂

bob

Nice list! I’m also super looking forward to Orange! idk if you’ve written about it but are you currently watching My Hero Academia? I just got a Funimation account for it, it was $5 I thought it would be more like Crunchyroll is, to watch it even though I could watch it free w ads I thought I’d support and I hate ad :P. If you’re watching it do you like it? Can’t wait for the summer! 🙂

Funnily enough, I just caught up fully on My Hero Academia yesterday, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s definitely filling that One-Punch Man-sized hole in my heart as I wait Season 2 (Madhouse get on it!). It’s fun and yet has it’s good introspective moments. 🙂

NICE. I definitely agree with 91 Days and ReLIFE. I’m going to watch Orange too. It’ll be AWESOME. But I’m also going to watch…Touken Ranbou. just to see the hype. SO. That’ll be fun…not.
But have fun with these!

I totally wrote a post like this for my blog. But definitely forgot 91 Days. >-< Eek!